He is undefeated at Churchill Downs, going 3 for 3.
Advertisement
Jockey Julien Leparoux, seeking his first Derby win, will be aboard Classic Empire.
Other Oaklawn-raced horses entered in the Kentucky Derby are Lookin At Lee (20-1), Untrapped (30-1), Hence (15-1), maiden Sonneteer (50-1) and Royal Mo (20-1), who is on the also-eligible and will need a defection to make the body of the race.
The forecast for Churchill Downs on Saturday calls for a 60 percent chance of rain.
The sun will not shine bright on the old Kentucky track on this Derby Day. Just two horses have won the Derby out of there.
What’s better than horses big enough to ride? “More important, every day everybody’s always dreaming about doing something.”- Maryellen Bonomo, wife of Always Dreaming owner Anthony Bonomo, told the New York Post.
Post time for the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for 5:34 p.m. CDT Saturday. “Most of the time this sort of thing will happen to a horse before training is started”.
While their results to date may offer little to separate the 20-strong field, plenty of the contenders and their connections have been tested just in reaching the Run for the Roses tomorrow morning (Singapore time). And when the starting gate flies open Saturday, everyone will be buzzing about Patch, the one-eyed long-shot who has emerged as this year’s fan favorite. Downgrade Always Dreaming, Hence and Gunnevera for the same reason.
I’ve had picks that have run for the Derby that have run like they had three legs, but never one like the horse I’ll be pulling for this weekend.
In certain states that don’t allow online gambling, you could in theory be charged with breaking the law, but because of all this legal contradiction, it seems that it would be highly unlikely, although it’s not recommended in the slightest.
Steadman’s winners included Gormley (6-1) in the Santa Anita Derby and Senior Investment (11-1) in the Lexington Stakes, but his big lick came when Irap (31-1) won the Blue Grass Stakes. “I don’t think this really means it’s a bad group of horses, I think it’s an even group of horses”.
“We’re OK with it”, said his trainer Todd Pletcher, who has sent out more than 4,200 winners, trained 10 Eclipse Award winners and had a Kentucky Derby victor in Super Saver in 2010. Classic Empire has won three of his past four races, including the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby in April. “I love being the favorite”.
Other than McCraken, another potential dark horse at the Kentucky Derby is Irish War Cry.
Classic Empire, trained by Mark Casse, has endured his ups and downs since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile a year ago.
Advertisement
■ Always Dreaming had an impressive victory in the Florida Derby, but his previous race was too slow to win a Kentucky Derby. But he’s not a standout like American Pharoah. After this, he came back to win two Grade 1 wins last fall, which included the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but threw away the Grade 2 Holy Bull at Gulfstream and refused to train for several weeks after that.
